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| The '''American Academy of Financial Management''' is a ] based Board of Standards, certifying body, and accreditation council dedicated to the ] sector and management professionals. |
The '''American Academy of Financial Management''' is a ] based Board of Standards, certifying body, and accreditation council dedicated to the ] sector and management professionals.<ref></ref><ref></ref> <ref></ref> | ||
| The AAFM was founded in 1996 through a merger of the American Academy of Financial Management & Analysts (AAFMA) and the Founders Advisory Committee of the Original Tax and Estate Planning Law Review of the United States. |
The AAFM was founded in 1996 through a merger of the American Academy of Financial Management & Analysts (AAFMA) and the Founders Advisory Committee of the Original Tax and Estate Planning Law Review of the United States. AAFM is a registered trademark.<ref></ref> | ||
| The AAFM offers multiple professional membership, certifications, and designations |
The AAFM offers multiple professional membership, certifications, and designations. The portfolio of professional designations that AAFM offers are registered copyrights and trademarks owned around the world by the AAFM Board of Standards.<ref></ref> Members must either have come through one of the AAFM recognized university programs (such as Universities within ], ], ], ] and ] etc), or through a ] or equivalent government recognized executive educational program, or in some rare cases through grandfathering of PhDs, Lawyers, or CPAs by way of board/peer review. The AAFM Board has never directly provided training, but as a global provider of certification, standards, and accreditation, the AAFM has recognized hundreds of approved providers. | ||
| ==Criticism== | |||
| To qualify to use the designation(s) members must either have come through one of the AAFM recognized university programs (such as Universities within ], ], ], ] and ] etc), or through a ] or equivalent government recognized executive educational program <ref></ref>, or in some rare cases through grandfathering of PhDs, Lawyers, or CPAs by way of board/peer review. The AAFM Board has never directly provided training, but as a global provider of certification, standards, and accreditation, the AAFM has recognized hundreds of approved providers. The AAFM Board is in articulation alliance with the ] International Accreditation Agency and the ] Accreditation Agency along with other international government recognized and accredited groups such as the GBR China, ACCE, AABFS and IIFM. <ref>[http://financialanalyst.org/accreditationalliances.html | |||
| In October 2010, the ] published an article exposing the practice of advisors using questionable credentials that discussed the AAFM extensively.<ref></ref> The article investigated the membership of AAFM's Global Board of Academic Advisors & Professors, noting that it included numerous individuals who had never given their authority to appear on the association's website. The founder of the AAFM, George Mentz, is quoted to support the finding that many standards boards, AAFM included, award credentials without requiring applicants to undergo any sort of assessment or examination. Representatives of both the ] and the ], which administer ] and ] certificate programs, respectively, were quoted in the article denying claims made on the AAFM website that they had a special affiliation with the AAFM. | |||
| "References to AACSB and ACBSP Press Releases"]</ref><ref></ref> | |||
| The AAFM Board was the first to introduce the CWM Chartered Wealth Manager Certification and trademarked program. <ref></ref> The CWM wealth management designation is similar to financial planning training but is intended as a graduate certification and program in high net worth consulting. <ref></ref> | |||
| The AAFM Board of Standards also recognizes individual universities who are recognized by the AAFM Accreditation Commission to offer AAFM Executive Education, Diploma or Degree programs in conjunction with graduate certifications. e.g., Thomas Jefferson School of Law in California. <ref></ref> The AAFM also has mutual cooperation agreements with the AABFS Arab Academy of Banking and Financial Services which is owned by the UN Recognized ] <ref></ref>, The India Institute of Financial Management <ref></ref> | |||
| , the African Economists Association ACCE <ref></ref> | |||
| , and some other accredited programs such as ]. <ref></ref> | |||
| ==Credentials Lists, Disclosure, Accredited Education, Continuing Education, Trademark Agreements, Exams, and Criticism == | |||
| On October of 2004, the ] discussed the USA ] certification programs of the ], ] , the ] and the ]. <ref></ref> Since 2004, the AAFM was the first to integrate ABA accredited law school education as a path to various AAFM board certifications. <ref></ref> | |||
| On October 16th, 2010, the ] published a their internal reference guide featuring a large list of USA certifications, designations, and credentials used in the financial industry. <ref></ref> As stated by the Wall Street Journal reference guide, some of the designations, such as the AAFM Certifications, are FINRA disclosed and monitored. Various AAFM USA disclosed designations from the ] governmental regulatory website are also included in the Wall Street Journal Reference Guide. The AAFM Board of Standards certification requirements of accredited education and exams have been publicly disclosed for over 6 years | |||
| <ref></ref> | |||
| <ref></ref> to varying governmental authorities, including the NASD and FINRA and also the Wall Street Journal list. <ref></ref> Also in October of 2010, the ] published a second article exposing the practice of advisors using questionable credentials and discussed the AAFM and the AAFM certification requirements of double accreditation. | |||
| <ref></ref> The article reported on the membership criteria of various organizations and also contacted some AAFM Faculty Award Winners who also consented to be Honorary Global Advisors for AAFM. Legally, honorary award recipients or honorary advisors are not allowed to speak on behalf for AAFM or any organization under the ]. The AAFM official press release section shows copies of written letters of award acceptance and honorary advisor consent from all those who were contacted and the AAFM rejects any claims by publicly showing the documented evidence. <ref></ref> | |||
| As for exams and assessment, the ] and the ] and ] double accredited business schools require exams and assessment for all courses and degrees as per accreditation guidelines. Therefore, ] disclosed AAFM designations such as MFP require accredited education that includes exams from accredited institutions. <ref></ref> The ] references the MFP AAFM Designation as the only designation from a certifying board to require and double accredited education and the inclusive exams from ] and ]. <ref></ref> | |||
| ] financial media also investigated the financial designation and education marketplace in the USA and stated that the AAFM Board USA promotes and requires accredited education from government backed institutions, and both Benziga and the Wall Street Journal in it's guide to credentials<ref></ref> state the AAFM promotes accreditation and asks the consumer to determine if their ] has government backed education, degrees, diplomas and licenses <ref></ref> | |||
| Over the last decade, dozens of other national or international press references from newswires such as ], The ] and ] write about or reference the AAFM ] and are available on Google News Archives | |||
| <ref>[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_scoring=r&as_maxm=10&q=%22american+academy+of+financial+management%22&as_qdr=a&as_drrb=q&as_mind=24&as_minm=9&as_maxd=24&sa=N&tbs=nws:1,ar:1 | |||
| "AAFM in the National and International Press"]</ref> | |||
| The AAFM Board of Standards USA has contractual legal trademark agreements with both the ] and the ] which protect the AAFM trademark brand and certifications worldwide while the AAFM claims no direct affiliation with either group. <ref></ref> Further, The FPSC ] which owns the CFP mark and program in parts of ] and ] still publicly recognizes specific AAFM credentials for CE <ref> </ref> | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 16:06, 25 October 2010
The American Academy of Financial Management is a USA based Board of Standards, certifying body, and accreditation council dedicated to the finance sector and management professionals.
The AAFM was founded in 1996 through a merger of the American Academy of Financial Management & Analysts (AAFMA) and the Founders Advisory Committee of the Original Tax and Estate Planning Law Review of the United States. AAFM is a registered trademark.
The AAFM offers multiple professional membership, certifications, and designations. The portfolio of professional designations that AAFM offers are registered copyrights and trademarks owned around the world by the AAFM Board of Standards. Members must either have come through one of the AAFM recognized university programs (such as Universities within AACSB, ACBSP, EQUIS, AICPA and American Bar Association etc), or through a CHEA or equivalent government recognized executive educational program, or in some rare cases through grandfathering of PhDs, Lawyers, or CPAs by way of board/peer review. The AAFM Board has never directly provided training, but as a global provider of certification, standards, and accreditation, the AAFM has recognized hundreds of approved providers.
Criticism
In October 2010, the Wall Street Journal published an article exposing the practice of advisors using questionable credentials that discussed the AAFM extensively. The article investigated the membership of AAFM's Global Board of Academic Advisors & Professors, noting that it included numerous individuals who had never given their authority to appear on the association's website. The founder of the AAFM, George Mentz, is quoted to support the finding that many standards boards, AAFM included, award credentials without requiring applicants to undergo any sort of assessment or examination. Representatives of both the CFA Institute and the CFP Board, which administer Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Financial Planner certificate programs, respectively, were quoted in the article denying claims made on the AAFM website that they had a special affiliation with the AAFM.
References
- "The RIA's Compliance Solution Book: Answers for the Critical Questions - Page 274"
- "US Department of Labor - BLS Career Information"
- "California Government Career Guide"
- "AAFM US Government Trademark Reference"
- "Directory of Global Professional Accounting and Business Certifications by Wiley and Co. - Page 264"
- "Is Your Advisor Pumping Up His Credentials - October 16, 2010"